If you are sitting neck deep in debt, living beyond your means, and still calm and collected about your own financial well-being, then chances are, you are one of the many millions of people expecting an inheritance at some point in the future. Like other inheritance recipients, perhaps you are expecting your personal balance sheet to align just as soon as your parents or a favorite grandmother or aunt passes away. The question is, though, is that really a sound strategy for dealing with your current finances?
Convert RRSPs to income - Roger and Sarah, retired for several years, have delayed taking income from their RRSPs so they could enjoy the tax deferred growth as long as possible. They must start an income from their RRSPs before the end of the year they turn age 71.
Review investment portfolio - Joanne had been using investment funds to save for retirement. She had benefited over the long term by investing in equities, but wants a more income-oriented portfolio with less volatility for her retirement income needs.
Statistics show that about half of marriages end in divorce. Ed and Liz are ending theirs and are concerned about changes that will have to be made to their financial and estate plans. Some considerations, also in common-law relationships, are:
For years, you have been anticipating that last day at work. When it finally arrives, will it live up to your expectations?
Retirement looks different in everyone’s imagination. For some, it means never wearing a tie again – for any reason. For others, it means traveling the world in designer clothes while attending fancy social events or elaborate musical performances. Some might envision it as a poolside chair with a cold glass of lemonade that never runs out.
While the lemonade may be in unlimited supply, your attention span is not. What happens if you get bored?
Canadians, like many nationalities, have a home bias when it comes to investing. The majority, if not all of their investments, such as RRSPs, real estate, mutual funds and businesses, are in Canada and are tied to its future economic growth.
These Canadian investments could see reduced returns in the future, however, due to a growing shift in the balance of economic power towards China and the East and away from the U.S. and Western countries.
Investors who start saving at a young age automatically have one of the most powerful assets on their side: Time. To get ahead financially, young adults should beware of some of the most common pitfalls discussed below that can all too easily sabotage a financial success strategy.
